COWBOY AU

You moved here when you were six.

Nico, your neighbor, was only a few months older than you so your parents set you for play dates all the time.

As much as you complained about it, it was easy with Nico. He was a lively kid who knew way too much about card games and horses for his age. You were the quiet one, closed off most of the time.

The roles reversed right about the time you both hit thirteen. He had a name is school because of his sudden change: The Cowboy in Black. It was supposed to sound menacing, but it wasn’t. Not really. He hated it either way, but that was his contact name in your phone anyway.

He’s pretty much your only friend but you’re also pretty much his only friend so it balances out. It’s an especially hot down so you’re dressed down a little, your flannel tied around your waist as you two walk home together. Nico adjusts his black hat, his muscles from years of hard work flexing.

“You wanna work on the project when we get to yours,” he asks in that southern draw you’ve come to develop over the years, “Or pie?”